April Virtual Tasting Pack — The New Flavour Profiles

Description

Cask 48.182 Haystacks and a bouquet of daisies

The Panel found a deliciously fragrant nose bursting with roses on the breeze, haystacks, fresh red apples and the buttery almond notes of fresh pastries. On the palate we swirled rock sugar in a porcelain cup of earl grey, perched on a rickety old table on some aged flagstones. There were hints of sun lotion and red apple peel with undiluted lime cordial wafting from the open door of the kitchen. The freshly mown grass sparkled with the remnants of fresh rain, while custard cream biscuit crumbs on sun-soaked limestone led to nutty almondy aromas. With water the preparations for the midsummer feast were complete, delivering buffalo mozzarella and fresh heirloom tomatoes, blackcurrant chews, honey almond nougat and coconut yoghurt, plus a tingly sip of sparkling wine to complete the festivities.

Cask 100.47 Marmalade and mint

Lathering up the shaving soap, we enjoyed the aromas of a spoonful of sticky marmalade and a chunk of honeycomb. The nose was sweet, woody and rich. Emulating the nose, the palate was thick in texture, like a robust toffee sauce drizzled with mango lassi and decorated with cinnamon and tangerine shavings. Water introduced herbaceous tones of bay, mint and soy to the nose, while the palate majored on sweet mint, candied nuts and bergamot, with treacle to follow.

Cask 41.185 Dancing dirty

The cotton-fresh nose came splashed with a dirty gin martini, vanilla milkshake, and twists of grapefruit and bergamot. The palate offered the silky textures of espresso dancing in toffee sauce, accompanied by a scoop of vanilla soft-serve ice cream and mulling syrup. Water gave the nose nutmeg-forward craft cola initially, followed by lemons, toasted marshmallows and orange ice lollies. The palate finished with custard tarts topped with mace, cinnamon, a well-fired crème brûlée and a glass of lemon iced tea.

Cask 44.193 Deep, rumbling intensity

This classic worm tub distillate out of Spanish oak, although generously giving, had a strong character that for some could be intimidating. But we loved nosing its thick atmosphere of venison salami, pumpernickel bread, apricot jam, ground ginger, cocoa powder and old leather. The palate had chewy textures and deep, rumbling flavours of nutmeg on barbecued pork and cigars straight from the box. The reduced nose gave us pears, pastrami, pink peppercorns and polished cedar, coal sacks and tea tree oil. Long after swallowing, lingering impressions of marmalade, walnuts, dark sherry, carrot cake and meats salvaged from the barbecue charcoal ash continued to delight.

Cask 58.62 Honey hi

The neat nose revealed creamy vanilla foam and victoria sponge cake, which also suggested a good sense of texture about this whisky. We then noted the lovely natural sweetness of barley sugars and honey, before a subtle waxiness emerged. Reduction brought out flower nectars, heather honey, light shilling ales and freshly baked bread. When neat, the palate was dominated by floral honeys, hints of youthful dessert wines, yellow plums and sweet breakfast cereals. Water revealed notes of plum eau de vie, white flowers full of pollen, lemon barley water and American cream soda sweetness.

Cask 149.9 Barfly

We found the nose to be wonderfully starchy, fresh and full of fabrics, cigarette papers and barley extract before big notes of hessian, lemon rind and buttery oatcakes. It all suggested to us a big, hearty and charismatic Highland distillate at play – and we were not wrong …! With water it became a notch fatter, with rich beery and bready notes, background hints of heather honey and mead, then camphor and the funky kiss of cider apple. The neat palate displayed a wonderful muddle of sharp gooseberry acidity, celery, cooking oils, putty and lemon rinds. With time it became more medicinal, with camphor and menthol balm and some lovely waxy textures. Water brought back those starchy and cereal vibes, while there were loads more beers on display, ready salted crisps and a single, solitary pork scratching …

Cask 122.80 Better with smoked bacon

We all loved the nose neat. The scent of parma violets, serrano ham, melon, pine trees, a bed of moss with lavender, sea salt and honey-glazed bacon-flavour corn snacks put smiles on our faces. The smiles grew even bigger when we tried it. The smoked bacon was now infused within an old fashioned cocktail, as we enjoyed smoked mackerel salad with lemon, red onion, olive oil and fresh mint. Water added a grilled Dover sole (with lemon again) and a caper dressing served with roasted parsnip potatoes. On the palate, we found saffron and rosewater ice cream with smoked lemon s’mores. Following three years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, we transferred this whisky into a heavy toast, medium char refill hogshead.

Cask 10.275 Scooby snack

This was clearly a huge whisky, agreed the Panel. Immediately we started getting notes of mineral salts, beach sand, smouldering sandalwood, salt and pepper squid, dense peat smoke and brown sauce on a slab of square sausage. Water brought such things as sea urchin dashed on wet rocks, burning hay, salted butter, pork scratchings drizzled with malt vinegar, and umami ramen broth with a boiled egg. The palate was superbly creamy in texture with a dazzlingly intense peat-smoke profile: we found lots of rich American oak influence, singed coconut, sweet tar liqueur, herbal mouthwash and various ointments and embrocations. With water it became marginally drier with coal smoke, sooty sausages on a barbecue, wet kelp, smoked razor clams, resinous fir wood and antiseptic. At six years of age, we combined two bourbon hogsheads from the same distillery into this cask for further maturation and marrying. This second fill butt was previously used to mature another Two to One bottling, 7.243.